1937 Cord Westchester Street Rod

Written by Ken Gross

Purists cry out in despair when custom cars are made from desirable models, but in this case the builder told me he had found four Cord Westchester bodies in a Texas wrecking yard and used “the worst of the four”

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This all-steel, all-real 1937 Cord Westchester 812 started life as a four-door sedan but has now been transformed into one of the best looking street rods ever made. Hemmings described it as the “Coolest Street Rod Ever,” the only car to be on its cover for eight months. Boyd Coddington called it his “Pro’s Pick” at Goodguys 2004. Documented from the day it was picked out of a junkyard six years ago, this car features a Jaguar front and rear suspension, a 350-ci Chevy LT1 V8, a 350 Turbo Hydra-Matic transmission, power steering, four-wheel power disc brakes, telescopic steering column, power and heated leather seats, AM/FM/CD stereo, Autometer gauges, remote doors, and power windows.

Ken has been an auto writer for 38+ years, and his work has appeared in Playboy, AutoWeek, Hemispheres, The Rodder’s Journal, Street Rodder and Hot Rod Magazine. He wrote the award-winning TV series “Behind the Headlights,” and his books include Hot Rods and Custom Cars, Los Angeles and the Dry Lakes: The Early Years, Art of the Hot Rod, Hot Rod Milestones and The Allure of the Automobile. He was curator of the “Allure of the Automobile” exhibit at the Portland Art Museum during the summer of 2011. He was director of the Los Angeles-based Petersen Automotive Museum and has judged at Pebble Beach for 20 years.

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